Hi guys!
I had a poll going on Instagram between the bend down select geng and the boutique crew, and the BDB geng won. It was actually kind of surprising because I didn’t think a lot of people would be so cool about it but then again, any team I’m on wins! Apart from the poll on instagram, I had a few people share their experiences about thrift shopping with me. A few had only nice things to say, some had seemingly interesting experiences and others had tips that’d make your shopping a satisfactory experience.
Yes, thrift shopping helps us cut our coats to suit our clothes but there are other things we need to be aware of. Some of these things are:
- Be on the alert: This one is like really important and people tend to play with it a lot. Open markets generally are really busy places and so you have to be on the alert. You have to be careful of pick pockets cos it’d happen so swiftly. Recently, I was at Oshodi market with my mum and we noticed this lady looking so helpless. Her purse had been taken out of her bag when she was selecting the clothes she wanted to buy. Another time, my mum heard that shoppers’ bags were carefully torn underneath with razors so that the contents fall out. These guys have different methods and to avoid falling victim, we need to be extra careful.
- Dress down: This one is by choice dears because honey you can do whatever you want to do. I’d just advise that you do not wear your Gucci belt and Fendi sneakers to go and shop for Ok jeans and shirt in Yaba. You’re asking me why? It’s not a party my love so let’s calm down with the designers. These people know the prices of clothes and so they’d put you on a scale and that’s how they give you prices. They don’t believe someone that owns actual Fendi sneakers wants to buy a shirt that costs 200 naira and so they’d add an extra zero to suit your person.
- Negotiate : Negotiation is key guys! These guys will get you to pay so much more than the item is actually worth once they know you don’t know how to negotiate. Some months back, I got a shirt for just 200 naira and then a friend of mine got it for way higher (I don’t remember exactly how much ) just because she wasn’t good at bargaining. If you know you can’t, just go with somebody who knows how to.
- Calm down: Brothers and sisters...nothing good comes easy. It’s already cheap and you want it to be easy too? You have to be patient so that you don’t end up hating what you bought when you get home. You might not even end up getting anything and that’d be a total waste of your time. This is one of the problems with a lot of people. Remember some of them are used, so you need to be calm enough to look through what you’re buying. You don’t want to end up with torn or faded clothes.
- Know what suits you : What’s your waist size? What size of dresses do you wear? Do you wear a medium sized shirt or a large? Don’t come and be stressing us with your indecisiveness abeg because there isn’t even time for any of that. There are a lot of other prospective buyers and there’s no changing room, so the seller’s expecting you to buy whatever you’re picking up. Other people want that pretty skirt you just dug up from the pile and so if you’re wasting time,someone else is taking it.
All these tips are necessary but if you think I missed any, please let me know in the comment section. A lot of the people that shared their experiences with me backed my first post up and gave us new reasons to thrift shop.
For instance, Oyin said thrift shopping helps you save money and it helps you get unique wears. This is actually true because of the mass production thing in boutiques. Everyone has the same clothes cos “na wetin dey reign be dat”.
Basit said bargaining according to the number of clothes you picked is an option. They could decide to reduce the amount a bit because you bought a lot of wears, which means you’ve saved extra money. Also, Lade of Lahdar collections (an online store for new and thrift wears) said she gets some things by thrift shopping and then resells them. There are a lot of thrift shopping stores online now. Some are really cheap and others are expensive because gain must be made, but at least they tell you what they are selling are second hand wears.
Some so called boutiques actually sell second hand clothes as new at ridiculous prices. You just don’t know you’re spending all that money on the packaging. Don’t fall victim guys!
If you still don’t agree with the BDB geng, it’s cool. Everyone is different. One thing though...I don’t think it’s cool to go underwear shopping in thrift stores. And even when you get regular wears, please wash them properly.
Don’t forget to share and tell me what you think in the comment section ❤️.
9 Comments
Maybe its bend down select I'll pick my convo clothes eventually
ReplyDelete😂😂😂 Slay is slay dear!
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ReplyDeleteI love this article, I remember a while back we went to Yaba from the studio to get some clothes for a shoot, looking back now I think my Ray-Ban might have been the cause. We didn't end up buying anything, the prices were exhorbitant.
ReplyDeleteI also don't think I can't go there on my own, I once bought a shirt at an exhorbitant rate (it was during service, the thing pained me eh)
I remember the days of "Super" aka Katangowa.
Nice article, nostalgic
Lmao 😂 They probably saw you as the OBO that you are.
DeleteNot only cloth o. Sneakers and nice leather shoes too. I bought a nice sneaker for 500 naira at katangowa market at super busstop and that sneaker has served more purposes than the ones I got at a store. In conclusion, bend down select for the win.
ReplyDeleteYou know!!
DeleteNice article Bee. Also know your market, because some markets are best for night shopping (Yaba) some for early mornings (Kata) it helps to knowing when to go shopping.
ReplyDeleteLool! You gas wise on these streets. Shoppers need to see this. Well done!
ReplyDelete